Simple Desires
by jordigirl
Summary: Olivia wants to know why her life can never be simple. Fitz and Liv.
1. Chapter 1

Olivia sat on her couch, blindly watching the television and drinking a glass of Chardonnay. Silent tears slipped down her face as she tried to make sense of everything that had happened in just one day. Seven hours ago, she was on cloud nine, imagining having a real life with Fitz—a life where they could put their love on display instead of having to hide it. Five hours ago, she realized that she was blinded by love in that moment in the Oval Office when Fitz discussed resigning and divorcing Mellie with her. She was blinded by that moment when they kissed, and by the fact that for once she didn't feel guilty about it. It all clouded her judgment and made her ignore her gut. Cyrus and Stephen pulled her out of her dream world and reminded her that Fitz wasn't hers to have. He belonged to the American people. He had the potential to be the best president the U.S. had ever seen, and there was no way she would ever let him give it all up for her. She practically killed herself trying to get him elected, and she did it because she saw the greatness in him. She couldn't let him let his greatness go to waste when he could potentially help so many people. She couldn't. She knew she needed to go to Mellie and convince her to stay and fight. They needed to save his presidency, and there was only one way to do it.

Olivia poured more wine into her glass as she thought about her conversation with Mellie. She still couldn't believe Mellie knew all along and didn't even care. She didn't deserve Fitz. Olivia's heart broke into a million little pieces when she realized he had actually slept with Amanda, and his own wife didn't even care that he was in love with another woman. And just thinking about Fitz and Mellie having another baby made Olivia want to scream. She would love to have a baby with Fitz. The thought made her smile and she moved her free hand to rest on her stomach. Olivia sighed and shook her head as if to shake all of her thoughts out of it. She just wanted to be a normal person who was in love with a normal man who wasn't married, didn't have children, and wasn't the freaking president of the United States of America. Why couldn't her life ever be easy?

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(Flashback—2 years ago on the campaign trail)

"Why can't my life ever be easy?" Olivia asked, her hand on Fitz's bare chest. She had accompanied him to his hotel room after he spoke at University of Maryland. Mellie was campaigning in California, so they had a chance to be alone together.

"Maybe because easy is overrated?" Fitz said, opening his eyes, and looking into hers with a crooked smile. He rolled over on his side and kissed her softly. "Easy doesn't give me you."

"I just wish that it weren't so complicated. Like, this just all feels so hopeless and wrong." Olivia looked up at him, and pushed his hair back from his forehead. "I wish that you were mine."

"I am yours, Livvie. My heart is all yours." He wrapped his arms around her firmly, and she laid her head on his chest. He rubbed soothing circles into her back and kissed her forehead.

"I know, but I want all of you," she whispered as she closed her eyes and gave in to her exhaustion.

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Olivia turned the TV off and shuffled into her bedroom. She threw her clothes off and got into her bed, pulling the covers completely over her head. _I am always alone_, she thought. She began to sob loudly and uncontrollably inside her cave of sheets. She cried for what almost was but could never be, and she cried because she knew she would never get over it. She cried because she no longer had any hope that it could work out. She cried because she knew she would never be able to love someone else. She was trapped and it seemed like she would never get a chance to be truly happy. Her sobs sounded like a broken heart and a wounded soul, and if anyone could have heard them they would have felt miserable, too.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey everyone! Thank you for the reviews! Sorry the chapters are so short so far-I will try to make the later ones longer!  
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President Fitzgerald Grant the third woke up disoriented the day after the interview that "fixed" everything. He smiled remembering the dream he had about a beautiful life with his beautiful Livvie—he saw a dog, a townhouse in the city, and a gorgeous caramel-skinned little girl with hazel eyes and curly brown hair. The smile was quickly turned into a snarl of disgust when he looked over and saw his wife and remembered the plan she and Olivia orchestrated to save his presidency. He couldn't believe she would go to Mellie without telling him first. _She could have at least told me to my face instead of ambushing me with Mellie, _Fitz thought, the anger boiling up again_. _It felt weird to be so mad at Liv—he couldn't remember a time when he was the angry one. Fitz got out of the bed and walked over to the window. _Do I even have the right to be angry?_ Fitz thought about all he had put Olivia through. He was the one that initially pursued the relationship with her—he was the reason they fell so hard. He made her life difficult. If he had left her alone, she cold have dated some normal, unmarried guy and been perfectly happy. Then he slept with Amanda Tanner and lied to her about it. He felt his anger redirect itself towards himself. Why did he do that? He should have waited patiently for her. She was worth waiting for.

Fitz walked away from the window and into his closet. "I am the President of the United States," he whispered in disbelief. He almost let it all go, but Liv saved him. She got him elected and she kept him in the office. He heard their conversation from yesterday playing in his head.

"_Who are you right now?" Fitz hissed, forcefully pulling Olivia to him, his face twisted in anger and pain. He wanted her to back down, to feel him against her and melt into the woman she was earlier in the oval office. He wanted her to want him._

_Liv's face registered her shock at how hard he pulled on her arm and how angry his voice was. She placed her hand on his chest and gently pushed him away. "The woman who got you elected," she said, looking up into his eyes. "So go be the man I voted for."_

**"**She voted for me," he said softly, smiling to himself while he knotted his tie. He walked back out into the main room and saw Mellie sitting straight up in the bed. She narrowed her eyes when she saw him.

"Good morning, honey," she said, a false cheeriness in her voice like always. "Maybe you didn't want to make a baby last night, but we are going to have to do it soon. If you need to, you can pretend like I'm Liv, Amanda, or whomever else you've been screwing," she said wryly, her lips curving up in her signature smirk.

She sighed loudly when he just stood there looking at her, not responding. She got up out of the bed and walked over to stand right in front of him. "Do you think I want to have another baby? I most certainly do not. But unlike you, I make the hard decisions that are necessary for us to get in and stay in the White House. This is where we're supposed to be, Fitz."

"It is where I am supposed to be," Fitz replied, looking straight in her eyes. "And you had a miscarriage once, you can have another one. You are getting up there in age. It would be believable, right?" He walked out of the room before she had a chance to respond.

President Grant was the most powerful man in the world, and he wanted to be in charge of his own life.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Scandal or any of its amazing characters or story lines. **

6 months later

"Guys, we need to wrap this up!" Olivia said to her team who were seated around the table in their office, staring attentively at her. "If we do not figure out who the real embezzler was at Marks&Reed, Mr. Boone is going to go to jail for a long time for a crime he didn't commit. We are not going to let that happen, understand?"

Her team nodded at her as she barked out orders. Lately, they seemed a little weary of Olivia. She had them working nonstop. They would take on five cases at a time without voting on them, and Olivia was constantly working. They were all worried about her, but she had put up a barrier that they couldn't break down. So they just did what she told her to, and tried to support her anyway they could.

As they all received their assignments and filed out of the conference room, Stephen stopped in front of her. Olivia looked up at him, her dark eyes expressionless. He put his hands on her shoulder and squeezed them slightly.

"Happy Birthday, Liv," he said with a small smile.

Olivia cracked a little smile in reply and nodded her head, "Thanks Stephen."

"I am going to come by later with a pizza from that place in Georgetown we used to go to all the time in college and some wine. Does 8 work? And don't you dare say no—there is no way we are not celebrating your birthday. I know that these last six months have been hard for you, but Liv, you have to keep living your life. You have to enjoy your life."

Olivia looked down at her hands and nodded again, before bringing her eyes to meet her friend's. "8 it is."

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Olivia looked around her office, before turning off the light and locking the door. It was 7, and she needed to get home and change into something more comfortable before Stephen arrived. She took her white jacket off the coat hanger and put it on, before walking out of the front door of the office and locking it. She walked the short walk to the parking garage quickly—the evening air was cold against her face. As she unlocked her car door, her phone started ringing. She fished it out of her purse as she pulled open the door and got in. She saw that the number was blocked, and frowned.

"Pope," she answered as she began to stick the key in the ignition.

"Olivia."

Olivia froze with her hand on the key in the ignition. She heard the voice and knew the voice, but it didn't make sense. She shook her head in disbelief and remained silent.

"Livvie?" Fitz's warm voice whispered out her name in that desperate way that always drove Olivia crazy. He said her name as if she saved him—as if he revered her and worshipped her.

Olivia took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Mr. President?" she said in the most composed voice she could muster. "What…why are you calling? You can't call me." Olivia felt like crying and laughing and screaming. She didn't know which one to do, so she didn't do any of them.

"Liv, I wouldn't call if it wasn't important. You know that. I mean, it's been _six months_."

He said six months as if it were a lifetime. Olivia closed her eyes and realized it had felt like a lifetime. She was fighting back the "I miss you" that wanted to fly out of her mouth.

"What do you need?" She said instead, her voice wavering, her hand still frozen around the key in the ignition.

"I can't talk about it over the phone, is it possible for you to be here in half an hour?" Fitz's voice was soft and warm, and Olivia felt herself melting. She looked over at the clock and 7:25 glared back at her.

"Umm, yes, I can. I mean, if it's important. I have plans with Stephen, but I will see if we can push them back until nine."

"Thank you. See you soon."

The phone went dead and Olivia just stared at it for a couple of minutes. Eventually she dialed Stephen's number and told him that she needed to push back their birthday celebration one hour. He sounded a bit suspicious on the phone, but she didn't give him the details. Once that was taken care of she took a deep breath, and pulled out of the garage.

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Olivia walked into the Oval Office, trying her hardest to show no emotion. This was a business meeting, and she needed to be professional. It was part of her deal with Mellie that she no longer had secret romantic meetings with her husband, and Olivia was determined to hold up her side of the bargain. She looked around and realized that Fitz was nowhere to be seen.

"Mr. President?" She called out, taking a couple of cautious steps further into the room. Confused, she sat down on one of the couches to wait for Fitz to show up. Her phone rang, and she picked it up.

"Hello"

"Livvie, come up."

Olivia stopped breathing for a second. Why did he want her to meet him in the room above the Oval Office?

"Mr. President…" she started with a question in her voice.

"Just do it. I will explain when I see you."

"But…" Olivia was met with the dial tone. Sighing in frustration, she got up, straightened her clothes, and made her way to the room she'd been to countless times. When she walked in it was dark, and she stopped to let her eyes adjust to the darkness. All of a sudden she saw a flicker of fire, and she tensed.

"Mr. President, are you in here?" Olivia squinted her eyes as she realized the flicker of fire was coming closer to her.

"Happy Birthday, Livvie," Fitz said with a smile in his voice. He was so close now, that Olivia could see his handsome face by the light of the candles on the slice of chocolate cake he was holding. Speechless, she just gave a slight shake of her head as her eyes moistened.

"Speechless, Livvie? That's not like you," Fitz said jokingly, his face lighting up with that smile she loved so much. Olivia had to close her eyes against all of the emotions and memories that were flooding over her. She allowed one memory through, though—the memory of them sitting outside in their spot, eating her favorite chocolate cake she brought for him from her favorite bakery. They shared the slice, and told each other about their days. When there was only one bite left, their eyes met, and Fitz smiled at her. She returned the smile, and he brought the fork up to her mouth and fed her the last piece. She stroked his cheek with the back of her hand as she chewed, and then he brought his face to hers and kissed her.

"Fitz," Olivia whispered, trying not to cry. "What is all of this?"

"For someone so brilliant, you're slow to catch on," Fitz teased. "Did you honestly think I would forget your birthday? Now blow out these candles before wax gets all over this delicious chocolate cake."

Olivia blew out the candles and then Fitz turned on a light. He sat down on the couch and patted the seat next to him. Olivia took a deep breath and went to sit next to him.

"Fitz, this is so sweet, but we can't." Olivia looked over at him, and met his eyes. His gray eyes were so full of love, not stormy like during the last encounter she had with him. Her eyes closed as she remembered that night.

"Livvie, we can't eat cake? I can't celebrate your birthday with you? Look, I know. I know it's been six long months. I know that we didn't part on good terms. And yes, I'm still a little pissed at you. But I am also grateful to you. I know you were only doing what you thought was right, and you saved my presidency. I just wish you had talked to me instead of ambushing me with Mellie. I wish…" He trailed off as he put the cake down on the table and reached out to push her hair off her forehead. "I just want to celebrate the birthday of the woman I love. You deserve it. And I…I needed to see you."

Olivia was still and silent for a minute, before reaching over to join her fingers with Fitz's. "Thank you," she said, her face lit up with a genuine smile. "Can we eat the cake now?"

Fitz laughed, and picked up the two forks and the cake from the table. He handed her a fork, and then turned his body on the couch so that he was sitting against the arm of the couch.

"Sit back against me and relax."

Olivia hesitated for a second before kicking off her heels and shrugging off her jacket. She scooted back until her back was against his chest. Fitz handed her the cake, and then buried his face into her hair before kissing her neck. Without even thinking about it, Olivia turned her head to meet his lips for a sweet kiss.

"I missed you, baby," she said, staring into his eyes before turning her head back towards the cake and putting a bite in her mouth. "And this is soooo good," she said with a full mouth. Fitz rubbed his hands up and down her arms before settling his arms around her torso.

"Happy birthday, sweet baby. I love you."


End file.
